THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER PRESENTED BY:
TN SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF PAYMENT UPDATE
The State of Tennessee will issue business relief payments through the Tennessee Business Relief Program to small businesses for costs incurred as a result of mandatory business closures. This program will direct approximately $200 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds directly to small business that qualify. Relief payments will be based on a business' annual gross sales. Payments will range from $2,500 to $30,000. 

  • There is no application process. The Dept. of Revenue will disperse funds.
  • Make sure your business address is updated by going here. https://tntap.tn.gov/eservices
  • Only businesses with less than $10 million gross sales qualify.
  • Businesses will be identified by NAICS codes.
  • The funds are to be used for the cost of business during the interruption.
  • The target date to begin distributing funds is the first week of July. Nothing firm yet.
  • Manufacturers are not the target of this program. Distillers will be handled on a individual basis.
  • There are five brackets of gross sales to determine the amount a business receives:
  • Gross sales up to $100K receives $2500
  • Gross sales from 100-500K receives $5000
  • Gross sales from 500K-1M receives $10,000
  • Gross sales from 1M-5M receives $20,000
  • Gross sales from 5M-10M receives $30,000
SAFE HARBOR & RECOVERY ACT UPDATE
The Tennessee Safe Harbor & Recovery Act passed the full Senate Thursday with 26 voting in favor for the bill and 0 opposed. The companion House version is scheduled to be heard on the House floor on Monday.

Most importantly for businesses the bill specifically provides protection in the areas of using, designing, manufacturing, providing, donating or servicing precautionary, diagnostic, collection, or other health equipment or supplies such as PPE.

Entities included in the COVID-19 civil liability protections are: businesses, manufacturers, not for profits, hospitals, schools and many more. 

Overall, it provides safe harbor civil liability protections to ensure our economy can get back on track and avoid frivolous lawsuits in the wake of the pandemic.
REQUEST FOR COVID-19 TESTING
Gov. Lee's Economic Recovery Group is inviting Tennessee employers—with 250+ employees—to request pop-up testing events. If you are interested in on-site testing at your facility, please complete the form .
THE SURVEY SAYS . . .
The Maryville Downtown Association is interested in learning about your ideas on businesses and services in our historic downtown district. We are working with the Tennessee Main Street and the National Main Street Programs to complete a community survey to gather up-to-date information to help us understand our community’s needs and opportunities for downtown improvements, businesses, and services. 
 
ARE YOU NETWORKING STRATEGICALLY?
Free soft skills sessions are offered in partnership by the Blount County Public Library, the Adult Education Foundation of Blount County and the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.

All sessions will be conducted via Zoom Meeting.    Click here to download Zoom   . It's FREE!

Registrations are currently being accepted online at    www.blountchamber.com for a class entitled  Networking Strategically on June 19.
Build a network that is beneficial and strategic. Learn how to avoid networking traps and break out of the mold in order to advance project and professional goals.

All participants will earn .5 CEUs per session for participating. They will also receive an email survey two months after workshop participation to assess application of new ideas.
WEBINAR CALENDAR
Personal and Professional Development Opportunities with Pellissippi State
Pellissippi State’s Business and Community Services is offering several opportunities to focus on personal and professional development this summer. In addition, many lifelong learning and professional training classes are now being offered virtually.
 
Free Online Courses
Focus on your personal and professional development with 10 free, self-paced online courses through our partnership with Ed2Go. The 10 selected courses are available at no cost through June 30, 2020. Learn more and register online  Ed2Go .
 
Summer Lifelong Learning Classes
Expand your mind this summer! We have a variety of classes where you can learn to paint like Bob Ross, get comfortable using a 3D printer, plan for retirement and even improve your Microsoft Word and Excel skills. Several lifelong learning and professional training classes are now also being offered virtually. Virtual classes will be designated on the registration page.
 
Visit our website  www.pstcc.edu/bcs  to register and to view the summer catalog and full listing of all our classes.
FREE Webinar Series on Organizational Health

Considered an expert in human behavior and organization dynamics, Greg Coker's vision is as a result of reading his books, attending his keynotes/workshops; recipients are moved to achieve higher levels of performance and their organizations better places to work. He is the author of Building Cathedrals: The Power of Purpose and the Soft Skills Field Manual. His third book, Healing the Wounds: Forgiveness & Reconciliation in the Workplace, is due on book shelves later this year.

June 16 11 a.m. ET - Team Effectiveness during COVID-19
The Ideal Team Player, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Four Disciplines of Execution, Leading Teams, other Team Models. REGISTER HERE
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center is hosting a myriad of online training webinars to assist you in all facets of your businesses. Take a gander at the upcoming events for June.

June 16 from 9-10 a.m.

June 23 from noon-2 p.m.

June 25 from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

June 30 from 9-10 a.m.
Constant Contact partners with independent marketing professionals who are both experts in its product and trained presenters. If you're looking for a little extra guidance and support, attend one of their upcoming webinars.

June 16

June 19

June 30
HUNT ROAD BRIDGE DETOUR
Motorists traveling in Blount County should be aware of an upcoming road closure that will have an affect on traffic in Alcoa over the next six months. On Saturday, June 13, Hunt Road closed at the Alcoa Highway overpass.

The existing Hunt Road bridge will be demolished and replaced by a new Hunt Road bridge over Alcoa Highway. This roadway is expected to re-open to traffic in December 2020. Signage is in place alerting motorists of the upcoming closure.

The existing bridge will be demolished during nighttime operations June 14-18. Traffic will be detoured around the bridge demolition using existing interchange ramps. That detour will only be in place for the demolition activities.

This detour map attached shows the new traffic pattern following those Hunt Road bridge demolition activities, and will be in place until December 2020. For more information on this project, please visit here .
WHAT'S HAPPENING?
AM CONNECT IS YOUR NEW
VIRTUAL COFFEE CLUB
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INTERESTED IN SPONSORING A VIRTUAL COFFEE CLUB?
If you’ve been wanting to host a coffee and the waiting list was too long, why not get on the list to sponsor one of our virtual coffee clubs? 

Benefits of attending virtual networking:
  • Meet others that you may not have met at an in-person coffee.
  • Extend your reach outside of driving area.
  • Meet members located outside the county.
  • Multiple opportunities to meet others in smaller group breakout rooms.

Dates for future virtual coffee clubs are: October 9, November 13 and December 11.

If you are interested in sponsoring, contact Jessica Hahn at jhahn@blountpartnership.com
REVIEW OUR BUSINESS RESOURCES
If you have questions about any business related topic about the COVID-19 crisis, please refer to our Managing Your Business During the COVID-19 Outbreak page that is updated daily. There's good information that can point you in the right direction.
 
Also take advantage of our member-to-member offers . There are a number of resources that you may find beneficial.
REOPENING GUIDELINES
As businesses reopen across the state, Tennessee’s Economic Recovery Group released guidance for businesses . The Tennessee Pledge guidelines recommend capacity limits, spacing requirements, and frequent sanitization, among others. Larger venues and activities where social distancing is not feasible remain closed.

GUIDELINES
The full guidance offered by the state can be  found here as well as printable guidelines .


Updated guidelines for close contact services, exercise facilities and recreation activities now focus on social distancing measures rather than strict capacity limits. In addition, the guidelines for close contact businesses also provide guidance for resuming certain services that require the removal of face-coverings.

ERG also expanded guidance for attractions and large venues to include recommendations for large community events such as fairs and festivals. To protect Tennesseans from the spread of COVID-19, venues should implement measures to encourage social distancing, reduce occupancy and crowd density, encourage the use of cloth face coverings and increase sanitization.

Full guidelines can be found on TNpledge.com for:

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you aren't following us on social media, you must. We are constantly updating information as each day progresses. So, give us a like and stay up-to-date as we move through this crisis.
 
 
And follow tourism updates here:
REMEMBER WHEN
Topping the Billboard Top 100 this week in 2004 was "Burn" by Usher. It t opped various charts around the world, including the  Billboard  Hot 100  for eight non-consecutive weeks; it succeeded "Yeah!" at number one. Both singles gave Usher nineteen consecutive weeks at the top spot, longer than any solo artist of the Hot 100 era.
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